Author: Elizabeth George Speare
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction
Disclaimer: mild political and religious views with the ending being to make decisions for yourself.
No way could I resist a book with "Witch" in the title, right? Well, I'm glad I picked this one up. The writing style alone is very refreshing, without too much heavy handed description or lots of metaphor. The author has lots of relaxing quotes involving nature and the subject matter had me wishing I were living in a more simpler time of no technology. There are lessons to be learned about not judging people you haven't gotten to know yourself, and not making snap judgments about others and other communities.
Some quotes, to give you an idea of the writing style:
“She saw now that she could not tell him about the books she had loved any more than she could make him see the palm trees swaying under a brilliant blue sky.”
This book won a Newberry Medal in 1959, which is an award which recognizes quality children's books. The Witch of Blackbird Pond was written for "young adults", but is enjoyable for many age groups, including "adults."“She rolled over and stretched, blinking up at the blue sky. The tips of the long grasses swished gently in the breeze. The hot sun pressed down on her so that she felt hot and empty. Slowly, the meadow began to fulfill its promise.”
From Goodreads:
Orphaned Kit Tyler knows, as she gazes for the first time at the cold, bleak shores of Connecticut Colony, that her new home will never be like the shimmering Caribbean island she left behind. In her relatives' stern Puritan community, she feels like a tropical bird that has flown to the wrong part of the world, a bird that is now caged and lonely. The only place where Kit feels completely free is in the meadows, where she enjoys the company of the old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond, and on occasion, her young sailor friend Nat. But when Kit's friendship with the "witch" is discovered, Kit is faced with suspicion, fear, and anger. She herself is accused of witchcraft!
